Duke Takes Bowie State 103 – 67

I bet you can smell it, I bet you can feel itâ€¦yup, basketball season is here, folks, and it’s just gonna get better and better. Today, the Blue Devils got to play against a team not in blue. Bowie State came into Cameron heads held high, not afraid and expected to win their league. Duke started slowly, well, as slow as a team that goes 100 mph for 40 minutes can go. Bowie State was able to keep this game close for most of the first half, partially aided by the way games are going to be called this season, but mostly, they just played gutsy, good basketball. What we saw early from Duke was versatility: it’s not often you see a 6’9″ power forward crossing over his defender before dunking on 2 people, then running back to block shots. That is what Jabari Parker brings to Dukeâ€”the ability to be all things on the court position-less, but actually, the term should be position-ful. Just looking at his stat-line is enough to make you scratch your head. 1-3 from 3-point range, 4 rebounds, 16 points, 5 assists, 3 blocked shots, and 4 steals. I don’t think Duke has had a player since Grant Hill or Luol Deng with the ability to fill every column of a box score with such aplomb.

Rodney Hood took a while to get going; it was a difficult game for shooters to really get a rhythm with 53 fouls being called. Once he got going, that perfect fluidity he calls a jump shot was in play. Rodney, like Jabari, also showed his versatility. Hood on several occasions muscled his way into the paint for “and-1” opportunities, something Duke fans will see a lot of.

Amile Jefferson looked like a man who is champing at the bit to get this season going, and he will benefit from Parker and Hood getting so much attention. On one such play, Jabari Parker found himself triple-teamed, but was able to find a cutting Amile for a nice finish at the rim and foul. Another recurring theme: Jefferson will be the forgotten man in the scouting report and will benefit nicely from the attention given to others.

It wasn’t all roses and daffodils, as there will definitely be a period of adjustment before this style of play becomes second nature. Duke played fast but occasionally did not get back on defense, it’s something that can be shored up but something to keep an eye on. Quinn Cook and Rasheed Sulaimon are going to have to adjust their games to fit this style of play and they definitely had a little bit of a hard time in this game, but not too much can be taken away from game 1.

Since it is the first exhibition game, I won’t get too much into the minutiae, but the overview is this: the team looked good. It was a fun game to watch, Duke was methodical, everyone played, and there was not much of a drop off; that is hopefully a theme that carries over. The other and final takeaway for me is Matt Jones. I wasn’t 100% sure what to expect but at least in this first outing he certainly did not play tight or like a freshman: he seemed to handle it all very well and if that keeps up, he could very well compete for minutes at both guard spots. The kid is better than advertised; playing on a team with Julius Randle is an easy way to find yourself overshadowed, but Matt is real, folks.